Nil - Quarante Jours Sur Le Sinai flac mp3 download

Nice to see a contemporary prog band that's not neo-prog, or another Dream Theater or Spock's Beard clone. If you've been put off by the contemporary (as in post-1992) prog scene because of such bands, or the Flower Kings or Marillion isn't your thing, this French band comes recommended. This was apparently their second full-length album, released in 2002 on the band's own label called Nil Records, they released a self-entitled album in 1999, which (I guess) the band apparently disowned (kinda like Kraftwerk pre-Autobahn) as that one was never reissued on Unicorn Digital, when they moved to that label. Quarante Jours sur le Sinai was definitely reissued on Unicorn, and I'm sure that's how most progheads got to know this band. This band doesn't pretend to be retro, but figured how to make quality prog in a contemporary context. They avoid digital synths, sounds like I hear a small amount of analog modeling synths, plus they do use some Mellotron (a real one, not the then-recently introduced M-Tron). I have a real difficult time comparing this group to anyone. King Crimson seems to be a big comparison, but that's only on occasions. Anglagard was another comparison, in the fact they would play one thing, go on to the next thing, revisit a particular them, and so one, aside from that approach, NiL does not particularly remind me of Anglagard. There's some nice female vocals in French from time to time I really like. I really can't compare them to '70s French bands like Pulsar, Ange, Atoll, Arachnoid, or Shylock as too often I can with other French bands. So what you really get is actually quite original prog that doesn't really sound like any other band, a rarity in this day and age given it's been very difficult creating prog without bringing to mind past glories. This CD is divided into two parts, although when you place it in your CD player, it shows up 29 tracks, showing you how quickly they move on to different parts in the hour plus context. It's not heavy prog, they usually keep a nice mid-tempo pace throughout, although they do go all heavy metal in one spot. Modern day prog isn't all Spock's Beard, Dream Theater and the Flower Kings (and Steve Hogarth-era Marillion), and I've known that for ages, even back in the 1990s when these bands started rearing their heads delighting many progheads, but not without an equal amount of detractors (even among progheads). NiL only proves that there's much more to prog post-1992 than those groups. This is one CD that really grew on me, because when I first heard it I felt there were a few nice ideas here and there, then it started all coming together. This is what good prog is about, requiring a few listens to get it, and I got it and loved it. They released one more CD (on Unicorn), called Novo Sun Sole, but that seemed to be it (that one also gets a ton of praise as well).So if you're not a diehard prog traditionalist, wishing all prog sounded like it should come out around 1973, or if you're turned off by the contemporary prog scene thanks to groups like those I mentioned, this comes highly recommended!